Dopeydapple
Well-Known Member
I started walking an akita x sharpei last October, he was a very unconfident dog and pretty much shut down when I met him. Turns out he had been attacked by another dog as a puppy and hadn't really been socialised after it as the owners were scared of his unpredictability. His owner moved in with his girlfriend early on last year and she has always been a bit wary of the dog and has been bitten by him in the past (they think he was being possessive of his owner). My feeling with him is that he is extremely anxious which has been made worse by his owners lack of trust in him and a lack of consistency. The owners asked me to help them as he pulled on walks, couldn't be trusted with other dogs and barks excessively at people passing the house. Things improved quickly walking him and he has never really pulled with me, has been chased by off lead dogs both wanting to play and being more aggressive and he has always walked away from them with me. He is much more energetic and engaging now and although I always make sure to keep a safe distance from other dogs just to be safe I have never had a problem with him and his owners say he is much much better with them too. Today however totally out of the blue and with no warning he dragged me a cross a track to attack a retriever who was minding his own business. He got hold of the retriever and was not about to let go, the noise from the other dog was horrifying and its owner had to kick the akita in the face to get him to release. The dog then moved to the other side of the path with me really quietly and sat as if nothing had happened while the owner checked his dog which thankfully was unhurt. I informed the owner about what happened and other than muzzling him from now on am not sure what to suggest to them, he has been such an amazing dog for nearly a year but now his "mum" is back to square one of being scared with him and as she is 16 weeks pregnant is thinking rehoming might be the only option. Anyone got any suggestions or am I right to think an anxious mum to be and an anxious dog is just never going to work?